Vail's opening day will be here soon

Vail mountain opens on Friday

Los Alamos & Santa Fe

We just got back from visiting 3 days our friends in Los Alamos. Janina & Joe were great hosts: their surrounding areas knowledge and great meals and talks were unbeatable!

Check some pics here below... and you'll have an idea of the beautiful area and good time we had.

Los Alamos from the Pajarito Mtn

Pajarito Mtn ski slopes

Chris in one of the Indian dwellings
in Bandelier National Monument

Deer at the Bandelier NM

Sarah, Joe & Janina at the Bandelier NM
with more dwellings in the background

They had the chimney too!

I guess this trail isn't for everybody...
let's check it out!

Yep!
Pretty steep, isn't it?

But we conquered the mountain
and got to the kiwa

Our local Indiana JOE-nes!

Going back down... in pretty narrow passages

...to have an idea of how it once (probably) looked like up there

Indiana JOE-nes and Junior

Valle Grande
Waaay out there there's the 2nd biggest elk herd of New Mexico!!!

Motor biking at White Wash Sand Dunes

GREAT TRIP ! Wow, we had a great time. We left Thursday afternoon. I had a ride with Chris A. I learned some things about super hard rock and roll. Chris's brother John and Doug Alrick drove separately. We drove so fast we even arrived in the desert that afternoon with enough time to ride. I went down on my motor bike right away of course and sprang my thumb a bit. Crazy night ride that evening with Chris (wait for me !). We blew things up courtesy of Chris (again) and his .22 rifle. Then he and his brother peppered me with bottle rockets, burning a hole in my pull over. Brotzo and Jay joined us that first evening and rode with us on Friday. I was EXHAUSTED. I was the only one that was tired. Great ride. I went down twice on Dead Cow wash, watch movie below. The adventure that evening was getting Jay's diesel unstuck from the sand. My wife Sarah would have loved that... shovels, planning, strategy and then success. Saturday we rode out to the Green River. Sunday huge loop around the dunes. Doug was kind enough to give me a ride back to Vail as I had to get back for early work on Monday.

Enough thanks can't be given to Chris A. for organizing, supplying and leading not only the trip but the rides each day.

Chris's truck with the tent contraption off the back. Gotta get one of these. Clean bikes up out front.


Long Movie here, it is rough at first but then it smooths out a bit. The sound isn't good, so just turn it down. Perhaps click on the HQ for high quality. Near the end (4:10) Ratz crashes (you don't see actual crash) but you see bike down and me self picking my butt out of the ditch.

Resting in the shade

Maggie hiding behind the rocks

Camp

John out on the dune

Break time


Boys will be boys, rifles and exploding tanks
(don't worry, we cleaned everything up, thanks Doug)

Chris's tent contraption


Another movie, short low quality in the dune

We stopped at some sort of old ranch


More screwing around with guns and fuel

Another pic of camp

Tomatoe - Tomato???

1 tomato plant: $2.50

Some dirt: $4.95

1 TopsyTurvy: $19.99

(Can use it outside or inside.
The below pic is after the first September snow.
Poor tomato!)

Seeing the 12 tomatoes growing:
FUN!

Having your not-believer-hubby try the first tomato:
PRICELESS!!!

Having a salad with home-grown tomatoes:
MY DREAM CAME TRUE!

Especially because I made it while Chris is out of town.
YESSS! All for me! :)

... and if you've heard his comment!!!
That was a YABBA-GUBBA-WABBA MOMENT!!!

Since he exclamated:
"WOW! THIS IS JUST LIKE MY MOM'S!!!
Now I know why you wanna grow tomatoes.
Let's get some cherry-tomatoes plants
for next Spring!!!
They grow & mature quicker!!!" :>

My personal History with Polaris

5 years old? Out in front of Dad, not sure of the year of the sled

9 years old?, out on Mom's 1972 Colt

And now my Italian/Slovenian wife
riding her own 2008 Polaris RMK 700
(She works at Vail Plaza doing reservations, working out rate parity issues of all things)

A little movie, I guess she loves her Polaris......
(make sure the sound is on)